A Seed Has Been Planted

It’s pretty surprising how different I anticipated feeling about the cold. I thought by now I would have frozen to death, but instead I found it to be quite the opposite… I’ve been hot most of the trip! Don’t get me wrong its nice and cold outside, but with the right close (which I cant believe I came prepared with) the weather is perfectly manageable. It’s coming in doors where it gets toasty and I start to burn up. But seeing how this so far is my biggest problem I’m off to a good start.

The German history museum was pretty cool, I feel even though I’m not a German that I can relate to the guilt and sorrow that they feel as a people to the events of WWII. Yes there were people who were very responsible for the war and the events that took place, but for me I think ever person on earth, even those like me born after the war and on there the other side of the world from where it all happened can still feel a sort of account ability for the horrid acts that we has humans committed against each other.

The museum guide was really good, not only because of here knowledge of German history, but also because of her honesty. She spoke about how here grandfather was in the SS, something that must have been very hard to accept. I have seen many war documentaries with interviews of veterans of the German army and I have always told myself that because there was a draft, they were simply serving their country. But the fact that the SS were all volunteers and that they were the hand that carried out all the horrible acts of violence during the war it is hard to give those men the forgiveness they need. I can’t imagine how it feels to have that history in your own family. I’m not sure how I would react to that.

Going to Cologne today as was almost like successfully piecing together a dream you had the night before. The whole time there I had the overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Of course I have been to Cologne before during a catholic pilgrimage where I had gotten to see the Dom, so the feeling of déjà vu is for obvious reasons. But the first time I visited was awhile ago and I didn’t do a good job of documenting my experience in either writing or pictures so the memories faded and I forgot just how beautiful the city and its cathedral really is.